Peoria man arrested for forcing woman to work as prostitute

On Feb. 5, police in the Cleveland suburb of Westlake received a call from a bus bulled over on Interstate 90 after a woman told the driver she was being held against her will by a man also on the bus.

The adult woman from Illinois said 27-year-old Darnell Stennis of Peoria forced her to work as a prostitute in several states before they ended up on the side of the road in Ohio.

Stennis denied the allegations to police and said the pair were a couple who “just liked to travel,” police in Westlake said.

After an investigation, Stennis was arrested for felony promoting prostitution. The Westlake Police Department and Cuyahoga County Human Trafficking Task Force are continuing to investigate the case.